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Coral Honeysuckle offers color, fragrance to evening garden
Coral Honeysuckle is a twining, woody vine. Its preferred habitat is mixed, rich alluvial woods, and forest borders, and it can be found throughout Northwest Florida.
The leaves are opposite on the stem, oblong to eggshaped, dark green above and whitened beneath. The leaves located under the flower cluster are opposite and fused at the base, like a collar. Elsewhere the leaves june be stalked. The leaves have no teeth and no lobes (entire); the middle leaves are perfoliate and lance-shaped.
The flowers are in drooping clusters from the leaf axil, and scattered along new growth stems. Each flower is bisexual in nature and symmetrical in form. The calyx and corolla each have five lobes. The corolla is yellow within. There will be five stamens. Flowers occur in the spring and early summer.
Fruit is a glossy black berry, nearly spherical; usually several at the tip of each flowering twig.
Coral Honeysuckle is also referred to as Trumpet Honeysuckle. In olden times it was known as Mailbox Honeysuckle. These grand vines are worthy of much topic. Any child who has picked a honeysuckle blossom to taste the sweet nectar from its nipple-like base can appreciate its evocative name.
There are many native N o r t h A m e r i c a n species, but none so widespread or pervasive as the imported J a p a n e s e Honeysuckle. Introduced as a fragrant ornamental, it soon outgrew its assigned role and became a major pest.
The Coral Honeysuckle is not invasive, but it should be carefully watched to prevent escape into other flower plots. The Coral is a little more selective and therefore not seen quite so often as the fragrant white varieties.
The plant is easily transplanted to a domestic environment. The greatest redeeming value is not just the brilliant red trumpets but its attraction to hummingbirds.
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